This is very much a real possibility.
Those slave organizations are anything but kind-hearted folk. They kidnap people and sell them off. Besides the basic selling points like hard labor and beauty, people with special constitutions like this might very well be one of their major selling points too.
Thunder City buys slaves continuously every year. It might well be that theyâre buying drug-enhanced people from the slave organizations...
After all, what Ding Hui saw was only one An Mansion, and Thunder Cityâs Ten Major Families really do number ten whole families! That level of demand is anything but normal.
"Donât panic."
Seeing Fang Yuâs expression change, Ding Hui spoke up to comfort him.
"The requirements for becoming a drug-enhanced person are not low. Innate drug-enhanced people are just like those naturally gifted genius Martial Artistsâboth are rare goods. Letâs not talk about innate drug-enhanced bodies for now, but as for acquired drug-enhanced people... if your big brother had what it takes for that, you guys wouldnât have been so down-and-out back then that you could barely survive."
That... kind of makes sense too.
Back when he had just entered the game, his character was already mixed up with casino thugs collecting debts. That alone showed their family really had no money at all, not meeting the requirements for being pumped full of drugs to achieve a drug-enhanced constitution.
Just as Fang Yu was thinking this, Ding Hui suddenly continued.
"But... if your big brother really was just utterly ordinary, Iâm afraid... things donât look good. If he actually is a drug-enhanced person, on the contrary... he might be a bit safer?"
Whooshâ
Fang Yuâs eyes snapped over to her.
"..."
Fang Yu didnât say anything, yet it was as if he had said everything.
If it werenât for the mess Ding Hui caused, he really might not have gone looking for his big brother.
With the sea of people out there, finding one person is just too hard. Aside from fulfilling his promise to Second Sister, Fang Yu himself actually had no real desire to seek out his big brother.
The problem now is, only by finding his big brother and getting his big brotherâs blood does Ding Hui have any chance of separating Second Sister out, any chance of bringing her back to life.
Seemingly aware that she was in the wrong, Ding Hui stayed silent for a long moment, then suddenly reached out both hands, clasped Fang Yuâs hands, looked at him sincerely, and said softly,
"Iâll go with you, Diao Deyi. No matter the ends of the earth, no matter where your big brother has been sold, Iâll stay by your side until we find him. Iâll stay with you for the rest of my life to make up for the mistakes I made!"
This was a very taboo topic.
Ever since that night, whether it was Fang Yu or Ding Hui, they had almost never brought it up again.
Now that Ding Hui suddenly mentioned it again, Fang Yu felt extremely uncomfortable.
He pulled back his right hand that Ding Hui was holding, and under her stunned gaze, took a few steps back.
Lowering his head, Fang Yu said in a low voice,
"I donât need you to swear anything or make any promises. I just want you to give Second Sister back... If you canât do that, then I... might never be able to face you again. For the rest of this life... we probably shouldnât see each other anymore."
That hurdle in his heart, in the end, was something he just couldnât cross.
Even though these past days had sparked him again and again, before that thorn was pulled out, Fang Yu simply couldnât bring himself to get along with Ding Hui as if nothing had happened.
"Weâll find him!"
Ding Hui suddenly moved in close to Fang Yu and gripped his hands tightly.
"Weâll definitely find him! Believe me! This will definitely be resolved!"
Empty words alone didnât mean much.
In their current situation, they were as pale and flimsy as paper.
But this time, Fang Yu didnât pull his hands away. Feeling the cold touch of Ding Huiâs hands on his own, he raised his head, looked into Ding Huiâs eyes, and said in a quiet voice,
"I plan to contact the Rebel Army and have them arrange, as soon as possible, a meeting between me and Hui Yao."
"Thatâs a bit risky."
Ding Hui said immediately.
"We only get one shot at this. We need to prepare thoroughly. Even if the one who comes isnât Hui Yao himself, without question, itâll still be a great breakthrough point. We might just be able to get some information about your big brother from this person!"
Maybe because of that earlier emotional outpouring, Ding Huiâs expression right now was unusually serious and solemn.
Fang Yu chuckled.
"Of course I know that. But Iâve already killed a Hall Master of the Foolish Underworld. There shouldnât be many people left in Thunder City who can keep me here."
"Itâs not that I donât have faith in you, itâs just..."
Ding Hui was about to go on when she suddenly realized something!
She froze for a second, then, in a flash, glared death at Fang Yu.
"What did you just say? Who did you kill?"
Fang Yuâs heart instantly skipped a beat.
Shit!
Heâd just blurted it out!
Killing a Hall Master from the Foolish Underworldâthis news was way more explosive than An Mansion secretly raising drug-enhanced people.
Because the former actually didnât have that much to do with them.
But the latter really did directly impact their safety and current situation!
Seeing Ding Hui plant her fists on her hips, like she had instantly flipped into full interrogation mode and was ready to dig to the bottom of this, Fang Yu immediately felt guilty. He avoided her gaze and muttered,
"Todayâtoday I went out to take care of some business, right? Then I ran into the Foolish Underworldâs Hall Master Jinfang Zai and Xing Xueman. They insisted on killing me, so I could only fight back and killed Xing Xueman among them. Then the Rebel Armyâs Deputy Commander showed up and drove Jinfang Zai off. If he hadnât intervened, honestly, I was somewhat confident I could have kept Jinfang Zaiâs life there..."
As Fang Yu spoke, he even replayed the scene in his head, carefully going over it, analyzing the battle at the time and his odds of victory. He didnât notice at all that Ding Hui was being bombarded by this string of revelations to the point of near numbness.
"You killed the youngest figure in Thunder City, the one who even within the Foolish Underworld was praised as the most promising in hundreds of years and most likely to ascend to the position of Lord of Mansion, the Hundred Flowers Hallâs Hall Master, Xing Xueman?? And then you also fought the Ming Hall Master, Jinfang Zai, and in the end, with the help of the Rebel Armyâs Deputy Commander, even let Jinfang Zai escape with the news?"